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TRAVELS TO DISCOVER 



r is. At the fame time, we can hardly imagine that 

 Frumentius, a Greek and a man of letters, Ihould make fo 

 ftrange a miftake. There is no fuch thing as diflinctions 

 between canonical and apocryphal books. Bell and the 

 Dragon, and the A£ts of the Apoftles, are read with equal 

 devotion, and, for the raoft part, I am afraid, with equal 

 edification ; and it is in the fpirit of truth, and not of ridi- 

 cule, that I fay St George and his Dragon, from idle legends 

 only, are objects of veneration, nearly as great as any of 

 the heroes in the Old Teftament, or faints in the New. The 

 Song of Solomon is a favourite piece of reading among the 

 old priefts, but forbidden to' the young ones, to the deacons, 

 laymen, and women. The AbyiTmians believe, that this fong 

 was made by Solomon in praife of Pharaoh's daughter; and 

 do not think, as fome of our divines are difpofed to do, that 

 there is in it any myftery or allegory refpecting Chrift and 

 the church. It may be afked, Why did I choofe to have this 

 book translated, feeing that it was to be attended with this 

 particular difficulty .? To this I anfwer, The choice was not 

 mine, nor did I at once know all the difficulty. The firfl 

 I pitched upon was the book of Ruth, as being the iliortefc; 

 but the fubjec"t did not pleafe the fcribes and priefls who 

 were to copy for me, and I found it would not do. They 

 then chofe the Song of Solomon, and engaged to go through 

 with it : and I recommended it to two or three young fcribes, 

 who completed the copy by themfelves and their friends. 

 I was obliged to procure licence for thefe fcribes whom I 

 employed in tranflating it into the different languages; but 

 it was a permiffion of courfe, and met with no real, though 

 fome pretended difficulty. 



A NEPHEW 



